"I will ask again. Do you agree to be my slave?" I asked.
"Yes," she said and nodded, a little impatient, as if she were waiting for me to stop wasting time.
Inside my mind, I spoke calmly.
'Yuna, use your ability.'
The air in front of us distorted slightly, like heat rising from metal.
A contract formed between us, lines of text folding into themselves as if they were alive.
It hovered at chest height, visible to both of us.
One of the "hands" on the table grabbed a pen, and with a sharp flick, it tossed it toward me.
I caught it, then signed my name on the contract with it.
I handed the contract to Lyra.
"Sign it."
She didn't read a single line. She took the pen, signed her name quickly, and pushed the contract back toward me.
The paper shattered into clusters of light the moment her signature settled.
The fragments scattered, then sank into our bodies, slipping into our souls with a cold, weightless sensation.
"Now, the research papers—"
